Family Meeting {Mango}

[Juice]

The summer heat seemed to be blistering Ilana's paws as she paced back and forth through the grass. She scented the air and could smell the sweetness of the lilies that were now in full bloom. She didn't normally take any pleasure in the aesthetic pleasures her home had to offer but the lilies were her guilty secret. Every year she tried to slip away while they bloomed so she could be alone among the lovely petals. This was not a trip for pleasure though. This was about business...or rather family which often mixed with her business. Running a pack, even though it was small, was still quite a paw full.

Ilana threw back her black head and howled into the bright blue sky. She called for her mate, Rhett, and her children. She was not exactly happy about how things were going with the pups. She couldn't be expected to raise all of them on her own yet that seemed to be the case. Rhett was constantly off skulking around the territories for other females. Ilana didn't have time to babysit him and the pups. The pups were getting older now and needed to be taught the ways of running the pack. She had little hope for any of them except Portia. Her middle daughter seemed to be the only one capable of leadership. The others...well they each had their weaknesses and that was typically all Ilana focused on. Her purple eyes scanned the area as she heard pawsteps running towards her.

---

A white wolf with the matching purple eyes of the alpha stepped into the warren. She could smell the fresh scent of the new lillies, a scent she always found reminiscent of her mother. She didn't focus on the moment for long before trotting up to the waiting black wolf. She gave a slight bow and acknowledged her mother "Alphess"

On the heels of the white wolf was another whose pelt was a rusty red. She matched the other alpha, Rhett, more closely. Jaavan had been slumbering peacefully in her den when her sister had very rudely awoken her. The two were summoned to meet with their mother and Jaavan had showed up. This was quite an accomplishment on its own being as she rarely ever showed any initiative or responsibility. If it weren't for her distinctive coloring, one wouldn't imagine she'd be related to the alphas in any way. She stepped towards her sister and mother, sulking at having been torn from her dreams. "Mom" she mumbled.

[Juice]

Ilana sat still and motionless as her mate and other child finally arrived. She was beginning to grow more impressed with Portia's behavior and more annoyed with the other pups. They were getting too big to be disobeying her and she was beginning to think a lesson was in order. She glanced around and didn't see Anneliese. This came as no surprise to her as her daughter was never punctual to any kind of gathering. In fact, she'd even missed a few pack hunts in the past months. For some reason, it didn't matter how severely she was punished, Ilana could never pound obedience into Anneliese. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but this began to worry her as defiance was not a trait the alpha wanted to see in her pack members or her children.

Ilana's purple eyes burned as Rhett rubbed against her. She couldn't be exactly sure, but she thought she smelled an unfamiliar wolf on his fur. She merely nodded at him when he spoke to her and resisted the urge to bite him. She glared at Cress when he arrived, daring him to look directly at her. Cress was a strong individual but he shared too many of his father's weaknesses for Ilana's liking. Still she thought a bit more highly of Cress than she did Anneliese or Jaavan.

"So you've all arrived. I suspect Anneliese will be late if she decides to show up at all." Ilana began. "You pups are getting bigger by the day and it is time for you to leave your puphood behind and join the adult world." She stood up and began pacing, letting her white toes dig into the fresh soil. "I have assessed the strengths and weaknesses each of you display. As you know, some day I would like to hand down power of this pack to one of you but the decision will not be easy. However, this is not what I have brought you here to discuss." The wolf's bright purple eyes flashed and looked in the faces of her pups. "Today we will begin your training in combat."

---

Portia sat proudly by her mother as her father and brother arrived. She had not been expecting Anneliese to show although she could not help wondering why she wasn't there. Their mother's howl had sounded urgent and Anneliese's absence would surely constitute a beating from their mother. Portia had watched numerous punishments her sister had endured from their mother. In fact she had seen the same punishments given to Delacouri as well bless her soul. But where Delacouri would whimper, whine and yelp, Anneliese never seemed to show any emotion when receiving punishment. It disturbed Portia to some degree and she didn't trust her sister. She got a bad feeling from Anneliese and tried to avoid her as much as possible. She knew her mother would deal with her.

Portia listened closely as her mother began to speak. She could feel her heart begin to pump faster with excitement as Ilana spoke of training and how the pups were becoming adults. Portia was eager to prove herself to everyone and even more eager to show Cress up. She had always been in constant contest with her brother and wanted desperately to be the best. Luckily, Ilana seemed to show favor towards Portia so she felt she was in a good place in the standings for pack leadership one day. When Ilana announced they would be practicing combat, Portia broke out into a toothy grin. This was the chance she had been waiting for. She knew she could easily beat Jaavan, in fact she usually used her sister as a punching bag to some degree. But she had never been able to fight fairly with Cress. It always seemed they would be broken up before being able to finish or Cress managed to wriggle away from her and run. Her purple eyes caught the glint of the sun and shone with blood lust. They were looking directly at Cress.

---

Jaavan began licking her paw and rubbing it over her rusty red ears. She knew she must have gotten pollen all over her pelt after running through the warren. She hated the yellow particles and how they seemed to cling to her no matter what she did. She had just brushed the last of it from her neck fur when her brother and father arrived. She wagged her tail a bit at the sight of her father. She definitely preferred Rhett's company and didn't even attempt to hid this fact. However, Rhett was constantly spending all of his energy on Cress, determined to have his son as a predecessor. It hurt Jaavan that her father paid little attention to her which she would constantly try to compensate for by flirting with other males. She was still very young so the only other male that paid her any attention was Axel, another pup in the pack, but that didn't bother her too much. Some day she'd be able to woo all the males.

Jaavan listened closely to what her mother said and felt her insides start to freeze up. She absolutely detested fighting. She constantly got beaten and would get her fur all dirty and matted. If they had to romp around in the flowers she was going to be furious, all the juice from the lily petals would make her sticky and sickly sweet smelling. Oh great they were to begin combat training. Jaavan sighed deeply, lowered her head, and narrowed her silver eyes. This was not going to be fun.

[Juice]

After pausing for a moment to make sure her family was paying attention, Ilana continued with her speech. "Clearly your father and I have already taught you the basics of fighting, but now it is time to test your skills. You will turn claw and fang to many enemies in your lifetime and you must know how to protect yourselves and the members of the pack. I wanted to pair you against each other but, as usual, Anneliese isn't here. Of the times I have seen you all fight, Portia has shown the most skill so I want Jaavan and Cress to spar and whoever wins shall be partnered with Portia." Ilana turned to here snowy colored daughter and came as close as she possibly could to smiling. She had not been exaggerating during her speech, her daughter was skilled and had quickly suproassed her siblings in combat and agility. Ilana was very eager to see how Portia would fair against Cress as he made up for his lack in speed with sheer power. Ilana knew that not one of her family members, herself included, believed Jaavan would beat Cress but she felt it necessary to train her other daughter as well. Perhaps she would learn something from sparring with her brother.

---

Portia smiled back at her mother, proud of what was said about her. She grinned devilishly at her brother and sister as she found the concept of them fighting quite amusing. She knew Cress would undoubtedly win, Jaavan was not a strong fighter. She did better at slinking away quietly than confronting problems head on. The white wolf sat down next to her mother, getting comfortable so she could watch the show.

---

Jaavan felt her black jaw drop open. She really could not believe her parents. It was stupid enough they were making their own pups fight against each other but she had to fight against Cress now? Cress was easily twice her size and could probably just sit on her to incapacitate her completely. Her silver eyes searched the face of her father but, as usual, he didn't even look her way. Jaavan knew she wouldn't be able to get out of this one and if she even tried her mother would probably punish her worse than Cress would beat her. She took a deep breath and took a fighting stance. "Lets get this over with" she muttered at Cress.

[Juice]

ooc: For any staff viewing this thread, we are going to mod this fight on our own because we have already established a set outcome. So if it looks like powerplaying is happening, it is but its ok.

Ilana sat and watched her pups. She had been preparing for an argument with Jaavan as her daughter was constantly back talking her, but was pleasantly surprised when the leopard spotted wolf stood up and took her position. She observed as Cress lunged at Jaavan and expected this fight would not last long. It was a good warm up for Cress, though.

---

Portia smirked as her brother and sister were told to fight each other. She laughed inwardly at how one sided this fight would be. Jaavan would be lucky if Cress didn't completely destroy her. She saw the look in her brother's silvery eyes and knew the rage was filling him. "Good." she thought "Now he won't hold back during our fight."

---

Jaavan's eyes widened as Cress leaped towards her. The young female was shocked at how much anger she felt emanating off of her brother. It wasn't her fault their parents were making them fight and she felt fear flood her body at what Cress would do to her in such an agitated state. She had planned on simply standing there and letting Cress pull her down but now she was afraid to do even that. Besides, if Ilana thought Jaavan wasn't taking this seriously she would definitely punish her and it would be worse than anything Cress could do. At the last second, the red wolf swayed to the left to avoid direct contact with her brother's fangs and crouched to the ground. He had missed his first attack but he would recover quickly and she knew it. Jaavan was not a strong fighter and her biggest weakness was in offensive attacking so she would have to be on defense for now. She crouched low to the ground and snarled, bracing herself for the next move.

[Juice]

Jaavan could feel how heavy her brother was as his body smashed into hers. There was a sharp pain in her neck as Cress sunk his teeth into the loose skin on her scruff and she did her best to bite back a yelp. Ilana would not forgive any sign of weakness. Jaavan hurt her shoulder as she fell to the ground because she had fallen an odd way but agian she did not make a sound. It was over, she'd been easily pinned and she did not want to fight anymore. Truthfully, she was thankful that Cress hand ended it quickly. She did not make eye contact with her parents or sibling and instead stared down into the grass. She would not get up and continue with this even if Ilana threatened to punish her. Jaavan wanted desperately to be done.

---

Ilana sat motionless as her children fought each other and didn't bat an eye when Cress pushed Jaavan to the ground. She had known this was coming and, although she refused to praise her, was impressed that Jaavan was even able to make a single move. Ilana nodded slightly at Cress so he would unhinge his jaw before glancing at Rhett. This was her subtle way of acknowledging that he had done a good job in teaching their son how to fight. Cress had taken down Jaavan swiftly and efficiently just as Ilana expected. "That was very good Cress." Ilana didn't bother looking at Jaavan but simply said "You're free to go." Her purple eyes slowly made their way to Portia and she said "Now it is your turn."

---

Portia was not at all shocked at the outcome of the fight, in fact she was getting bored. Because of this, she was happy to see it end quickly. Portia stood up, shook out her white fur, stretched her legs and got into position. She smirked at Cress before lowering her head and growling, her eyes alight with anger.

[Juice]

ooc: Just gonna post as Portia for now

Portia readied herself for the attack. As Cress lunged forwards, her sharp purple eyes caught his movements and she recognized an attack that her mother had often shown her. Cress was going for the underside of her throat to catch and pin her but it was crucial she avoid it. Portia was not large, she was average sized at best, but Cress was big and could use his weight and size to his advantage. It greatly added to his strength. Portia needed to be quick so she sprang away at the last possible second to avoid the attack. Her brother's fangs grazed her and she felt a sharp pain in her side but ignored it. After finding her footing, she quickly launched a counter attack and sprang up into the air, her jaws open and poised to come down directly on Cress' head.

[Juice]

Portia felt the satisfaction of tooth against flesh as her fang sunk deeply into her brother's eye. She could feel the warm blood spurt from the socket and fill her mouth. It sprayed onto her face and she enjoyed the sensation as it was warm and sticky. However, the sheer amount of blood caught her a bit off guard as did her sinking her teeth into the eye as that was not her target, so Portia did not clamp tightly with her jaws and missed getting a decent grip on Cress's skull. She felt her jaw start to slip and suddenly Cress's jaws were upon her. They bit deeply into her shoulder and Portia could feel the spite emanating from her brother's body. His strong jaws got a strong grip on her shoulder and she could feel the immense pressure fracture the bone as he flung her with voracity onto the ground. Portia landed on the bitten shoulder and felt more damage being inflicted as the bone crunched beneath her weight. Portia managed to pull herself up and licked the blood that was beginning to dry from her lips. She had not intentionally blinded her brother but nonetheless she found it satisfying and hilarious. An insane laugh erupted from her maw and she couldn't seem to stop herself

---

Jaavan had been watching the proceedings and nursing her bruised ego. The attack seemed to happen so fast that it took a moment for her to process what was happening. It wasn't until Cress began screaming about his eye that she realized her sister had blinded him. She sat there stunned and frozen, unable and unwilling to do anything until she heard the sickening laughter from Portia. "Stop." she said but still nothing seemed to happen. "Portia stop! Mom! Dad! Do something! She blinded Cress! HE'S BLIND HE CAN'T SEE!" she screamed but her voice seemed drowned out by the maniacal laughter.

---

Ilana had been sitting patiently and observing quietly as her children battled. She was impressed by Portia's speed and Cress's brute strength. They both made fine combatants. She watched Cress launch his attack and was familiar with it as she had seen Rhett use that very same one in a fight long ago and luckily, Portia recognized the attack as well. She countered with her own and went to bite into his skull. This was usually an effective strategy to get leverage on an opponent larger than yourself and, since Portia did not have size on her side, this seemed a logical choice. But something went wrong. Portia's fangs sunk into Cress's eyeball and then there was blood everywhere. It took a lot to surprise Ilana but this event did the trick. Her purple eyes widened as her son angrily bit into Portia and threw her roughly to the ground. Before Ilana could say anything or intervene, Cress was screaming, Portia was laughing and Jaavan was shouting. The situation was getting out of control and she needed to right it.

"Jaavan! Ilana barked "Go back to the dens now" Ilana stood and walked up to Portia. She looked into her daughter's eyes and saw the oh so familiar madness she herself experienced after tasting blood. Ilana bit her daughter's black ear roughly to snap her out of her delusional state. "Stop it." she said flatly before walking over to her son. "Calm down." she barked and waited for him to stand still. After Cress stopped yelping and jumping around, Ilana had a chance to inspect his eye. The eyeball was obliterated and he would never see again. There was also a large scrape from Portia's fang running from right beneath Cress's brow down to right above his cheek. That would also be a scar. "Cress you will never see out of this eye again." she said between licks to clear away the blood. "But you need to stop howling like an injured whelp. You have lost the fight and you must accept it." Without waiting for a response she turned to trot away. "I have seen what I needed to see." she said and ran off towards the dens to think
-Exit Ilana-